


Back(?) to the Future(?)

by kuchiki977



Series: Of Missed High-Fives and Time-Travel [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Female Uzumaki Naruto, It's Madara's turn, No one is quite sure, Time Travel, Young Uzumaki Naruto, and YOU get a time travel jutsu whoopsie, is it the future?, is it the past?, the saga of wholesomeness continues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:20:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26702068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuchiki977/pseuds/kuchiki977
Summary: Unlike Naruto, Madara takes making drastic changes to the space-time continuum very seriously—unless it might benefit him to disregard it entirely. (chronologically set after GFN 1)
Relationships: Uchiha Madara/Uzumaki Naruko, Uchiha Madara/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Of Missed High-Fives and Time-Travel [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1874794
Comments: 13
Kudos: 368
Collections: Foxy fox 🦊





	Back(?) to the Future(?)

Naruto is a vision. Her golden tresses and sky blue eyes catch the eye. The whisker marks adorning her cheeks charm many. Her smile could outshine the sun. Truly, Madara’s wife is a glittering gem among bland rocks and he has always thought so. 

Now, he knows she was criminally adorable as a child. The shorter, unkempt hair and wrinkled clothing do little to detract from the cherub gaping at him. It’s baffling that anyone could have been cruel to a child so precious. 

Between the two of them, Naruto is the one who usually initiates physical contact. Madara wholeheartedly accepts and reciprocates her affections, but he just isn’t as forward when it comes to proximity. That is no longer true when he materializes beside the tiny girl that will grow into his unfathomably strong wife. In terms of charm, she gives an infant Izuna a run for his money. Madara has to fight the burning urge to smother her into his chest. 

Naruto soon recovers from the shock. She begins hurling questions and accusations at him that he has no answer for, so he settles for taking in the room he had not been in just minutes before. Based on the table and lone chair, this must be what passes for her dining room. Trash and stains litter the floor. Other than a few potted plants by the window, the room is a dump. 

Outraged that Naruto once lived in such squalor, he has half a mind to torch the dwelling and the village around it. The only thing stopping him is the knowledge that she would have nowhere else to go or anyone she could turn to for help. The thought makes him even angrier. Snuffing out the other Uchiha Madara won’t do her much good now that her parents are already dead. Having Sasuke’s family take her in is out of the question.

Madara exhales through his nose. He finally has a chance to return the favor, but reckless behavior in the past (future?) could have devastating consequences. Naruto might not have taken that into consideration when she time-traveled and encountered him as a child, but the number of things that could go awry if Madara says or does the wrong thing make him anxious. 

It’s unfair how much more anguish and pain she still has to go through, but he can’t do anything to prevent it. Naruto’s invaluable influence has already touched too many—himself, Izuna, Konoha, the list goes on. She said it herself, “I changed too much and now I can’t go back.” With that sobering thought in mind, Madara immediately feels bad for ignoring her onslaught of questions and turns back to Naruto. He hasn’t heard anything from her in a while and that’s never a good sign. 

The chair she was sitting in has been abandoned. Movement in front of him draws his attention downward. Tired of being ignored, Naruto apparently decided to get an answer to one of her queries herself. She brazenly lifts his long shirt out of the way to get a better look at his crotch. “You’re a boy?!”

Swatting her hand away, Madara backs up and hisses, “Of course, I am! What could possibly make you think otherwise?!”

“You’re pretty girly-lookin’ with the hair n’ dress, ya know,” she explains.

If there was any doubt that this child is Naruto, it’s gone now. He gestures to his clothes and carefully enunciates, “This is _not a dress_ , it’s the traditional garb of my clan.”

“What _clan_ issat?”

Madara has half a mind to tell her that it’s the clan she will one day be a part of and she’ll be dressing like it soon enough, but he refrains. Besides, if taking care of his brothers has taught him anything, children act out because they want attention and he will gladly give it to her. He apologizes, “I’m sorry for ignoring you.”

Naruto gapes. Her unfamiliarity with receiving common courtesy makes him angry once more. She interrupts a bout of rage, “Your face is scary, but you’re actually pretty nice, ain’tcha?”

The comment stings coming from her. However, her criterion for what constitutes “nice” behavior is much more concerning. Further adding to his list of concerns, Naruto invites, “Wanna eat dinner together?”

Every moment they interact could influence events Madara can’t even fathom, but it’s hard to decline her invitation when she smacks a pile of papers off the chair she was sitting on and pulls it out for him. The mess of papers catches his eye as he takes a seat at the table. Before he can ask about the angry red marks and the low numbers underlined on them, Naruto stands on her toes to place a cup in front him. She hops on top of a couple boxes stacked in front of the sink and fills up a kettle, but instead of putting it on the stove, she places it on a plate connected to the wall. After darting into another room and returning with a large stack of papers tied together, she places it across the table from him and settles atop it. She makes conversation, “You look a lot like this kid in my class, ya know.”

He knows exactly who she’s talking about, but he can’t let on that he does—much to his frustration. Naruto makes grabby hands at the half-finished meal she left behind and he slides it across the table to her as he replies, “Oh?”

She slurps up some noodles. Mouth full, she replies, “Yeah, his name is Sasuke. Ya know ‘im?”

“I’m afraid I don’t. What are your thoughts on him?”

“He’s kinda mean,” she replies with a shrug. Madara manages to hold in his commentary, but the same cannot be said of Naruto. Her face screws up as she comments, “You’re makin’ a weird face—”

A clicking noise from the kettle catches her attention and she climbs down from her perch. Madara flinches toward her to assist when the kettle nearly falls on her as she lifts it, but Naruto regains her balance and brings it over to him. Both her hands are occupied, so she instructs, “Pull the lid open halfway so I can pour in the water.”

Madara obeys before she drops her burden. His eyebrows disappear into his hairline when steam rises from the cup. With a furrowed brow, Naruto remarks as she puts the kettle back, “Haven’tcha ever ate cup ramen ‘afore? You gotta curl the top back over so it’ll cook, ya know.”

Dumbfounded, he nudges the cup closed as she hands him a stick. Naruto looks at him funny once again before saying, “Ya put your chopsticks on top to hold it closed.”

“What chopsticks?” he asks. She grabs the stick back before snapping it in half lengthwise and handing them back. Thus far, he doesn’t care for how much the future makes him look like a fool. To distract her, Madara asks, “How old are you?”

“Fi—six!” At his dubious look, Naruto explains with a shout, “I just turned six today, okay?!”

A remark about being awfully small for her age dies on his lips when he fully registers what she just said. He doesn’t have anything worthy of being what is most likely her first birthday present. Regardless of the time travel ramifications, he has to give her _something_.

Well, everyone likes a confidence boost and Naruto could certainly use one for the long road ahead of her. According to everyone who has ever offered their unsolicited opinion, charisma is not Madara’s strong suit, but he is willing to force out some words of encouragement for her. 

With a deep breath, Madara slides off the chair and kneels in front of her. He praises, “You amaze me. Your strength of character, your will of fire, your indomitable spirit, your capacity for compassion and kindness—especially after all you have been through—awe me.” He pauses while he mentally prepares himself for the next bit, “It’s why I love you so much. Happy Birthday, Naruto.”

She stands frozen long enough that Madara worries he said something wrong. Then, her lower lip trembles and the water works begin. In a panic, he pats her head, but she takes advantage of the opening and jumps into his arms. Tiny arms and legs latch onto him as Naruto sobs. With a chuckle, he pats her on the back and pointedly ignores the uncomfortable wetness on his neck. She reserves the right to be a little selfish.

Madara frowns when something feels off inside him. Naruto resists when he tries to put some distance between them, but he persists until she is as far away as her grip on his hair will allow. Consequences be damned, he settles his hands on her shoulders, looks her dead in the eye and warns, “He’s nothing but trouble, so stay away from Sa—”

The next thing he knows, he’s back on the outskirts of Konoha with his wife. He finishes lamely, “—suke…”

Naruto recovers from the shock first and exclaims, “Where have you been?!”

Madara rises from his kneeling position and responds, “That is a bit tough to explain. How long was I gone?”

“Too long! I thought I accidentally killed you, ya know!”

He snorts, “So overdramatic.”

Naruto utters a shocked gasp. “Me?! You’re the one who tore up a forest just 'cuz I was gone for a few hours—oh.”

“Exactly,” he answers with a nod. With a wistful tone, he remarks, “You were so precious as a child.”

She huffs, “‘Course I was. I don’t remember meetin’ a giant porcupine, but I vaguely recall some idiot that didn’t even know how to use chopsticks.”

Madara argues, “Why were they stuck together?!”

“You have eighty years to figure it out, so don’t worry about it, old-timer,” she taunts.

“You’re the one that likes to constantly bring up that you’re physically a year older!”

With a laugh, she spins on her heel and starts the trek back to Konoha. “And don’t you dare forget it!”

He grumbles, but follows her back home. It’s honestly insulting how intact the surrounding forest remained in his absence.


End file.
